Who's responsible for replacing a faulty IHD?

  • geoffers's Avatar
    Level 37
    ) After Storm Bert caused electricity outages here our IHD started malfunctioning. We contacted E-On and they tried two remote resets that didn't work. The only solution seems to be a replacement IHD.
    this seems to be quite a common topic, with IHDs not functioning after power cuts.

    The power cut is unlikely to affect the IHD itself since as far as it is concerned it's just like unplugging it.

    However a power cut at the meter/Comms-hub end totally de-powers the meter itself, so I'm positive that the problem must lie with the re-establishment of communication to the IHD from the meter/hub, and that the Comms hub has somehow lost the IHD's login/GUID credentials so consequently won't connect to the IHD

    It's very easy for EON to wash their hands of the problem, always saying it's the IHD which is at fault
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @geoffers

    I’ve got my IHD on the circuit that is only alive when my desktop computer is powered up. So it’s off and on a lot more than most , and without difficulty so far.

    Consider me a testing facility. If my IHD fails to connect after a power cut then on a probability basis it will be due to the comms hub losing connection as you describe. I have mentioned before that 94% of smart meters removed were found to be working OK when tested properly. I put the comms hub at odds on as the cause of communications failures relating to HAN and WAN issues. We get very few matters arising which say the meter isn’t recording anything, many more saying data isn’t getting through as designed.

    perhaps we need to identify the comms hubs at fault - a comms hub rogue gallery.
    Current Eon Next customer, ex EDF, Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and don't like smart meters. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.
  • geoffers's Avatar
    Level 37
    @meldrewreborn - yep: trouble is the comms hubs are rarely powered down, except in a power-outage which is where a lot of these reports of failure to reconnect with the IHD occur.

    If an outage wipes or corrupts the memory in the hub it can no longer connect to the IHD, which is why it just sits there saying waiting to connect.

    Having looked at smart meter commissioning flow charts, it looks like it requires an engineer with a tablet connected to the hub to re-enter the guid of the ihd to allow the hub to reconnect to it

    I reckon that the suppliers know this full well, but aren't willing to send an engineer out to recommission the hub so just blame the IHD as having failed and tell customers to go out and buy an IvieBud etc
    Last edited by geoffers; 1 Day Ago at 18:49.